Some teachers do come up with sprightly retorts. One theater professor, tired of “Oh, you put on plays, how cool is that!” introduces herself as a teacher of “critical-thinking skills and group problem-solving” through “history, aesthetics, criticism, and production”—which intrigues interesting people, and turns away the less-than-curious. Other teachers cut off the predictable response with their own success stories: “My students can parse a political party platform” or “We’re working on a cure for malaria” or “I’m an expert on gerunds!”

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.